Jungle Glass Vase

What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

The origin of the creative process extends to a moment when I looked how a wave rolled upon the shore. The sound was soft yet intense. These contrasts in nature and the way they create harmony was what I desired to capture in the Jungle collection. I wanted to capture the serenity and wildness of the water. The rhythm of the glass making process ensures that each object has a unique colour play inside the glass that mimics the movement of the waves.

What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

The premise of the Jungle Collection is to create objects that gain their value from the quality, design and material. When I started to design the collection, I really wanted to capture the beauty of the glass material. I wanted the shapes to reflect serenity of the medium and to be weightless and strong at the same time.

What are your future plans for this award winning design?

The collection has been exhibited in design fairs and events in Europe, Hong Kong and Japan. There is also a red collar variation for the collection. In 2019 there will be 3 new models premiered in Dubai. Eacn object is solid glass and shaped by hand. The technique used in the green vases is steam stick. It’s one of the iconic techniques from the golden era of Finnish glass design.

How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

Collection has three shapes and three colour variations. I wanted to create an interior design object, that is more than just a normal vase. Each has a charisma of it’s own. The prototyping period took about 6 months until I had the clear idea on vivid colors combined with extremely thick glass. For example the tall Jungle vase is more than half solid. So it’s heavy, even it looks almost weightless. After the shapes, measurements and colors were designed, it took some time to find the right manufacturing process at the studio.

How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

Actually my Jungle collection was inspired by Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses. Music has always been one of my main inspirations.

What is the most unique aspect of your design?

Sometimes a very simple object can became multi-dimensional, when you use glass medium. There is for example the visual layer of glass: how does the glass reflect, how will the colors look in different light. Above all there are also the historical layers of glass which comprice the origin of Finnish glass making and the rare knowledge behind the craftsmanship. In jungle Collection every piece has a unique colour play inside the glass that mimics the movement of waves. Eaven I would try to create that same piece once again, it would be impossible.

Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

Every detail of my collection is handcrafted in Finland because the quality of the objects is always important part of the design philosophy. Therefore I have chosen to work with the best master glass blowers, Kari Alakoski and Marja Hepo-aho. We have been working together for many years now and the communication of the team is the key for a good results.

What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

I wanted to use extremely thick glass in the objects. This makes the object heavy, because one later of glass weights about 3 kilograms. This is 3 times more than water. It took time to find the ideal measurements for the objects so that the manufacturing would bot get too heavy. There are also many detailed manufacturing phases in the process - for example the colors were too dark in the beginning. The collaboration with the glassblowing team was extremely important during the process.